Hazel Alden Reason (April 1901 – 1976) was an English

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who became a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. She was the author of a popular book for young people on the history of chemistry.

Life and works

Hazel Reason was born in

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet () is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards No ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Her father, Will Reason, was a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister, who campaigned and wrote on aspects of social justice and poverty in books such as ''The Social Problem for Christian Citizens'' (1913), ''Homes and Housing'' (1919), and ''Drink and the Community'' (1920). Both her parents were university graduates. Reason was educated at

Milton Mount College Milton Mount College was a girls' boarding school that was established in Milton-next-Gravesend near Gravesend, Kent, southeast England. It was founded in 1871, opened to pupils in 1873, and the original building was demolished in 1972. Establis ...

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. She graduated from Bedford College in 1924 with a BSc in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, and then obtained a position as a senior science mistress at the County School for Girls,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

. In her spare time there, she studied for an MSc (London) on the

History of Science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

, which she completed in 1936. She was elected a

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in the same year.'' Proc. Chem. Soc.'', 1936, p. 7. Hazel Reason remained unmarried. She lived in Guildford with her sister, the writer Joyce Reason, for much of her life.

History of science

Hazel Reason's book on the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

, ''The Road to Modern Science,'' was published in 1936. A second edition appeared in 1940 and a third, revised edition in 1950. Reason commented in the Foreword that her object was to present the story of scientific discovery in a form that would appeal to intelligent boys and girls. She did not approve of the "great scientist approach", preferring that her book should cover "the broad view of scientific discovery."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reason, Hazel Alden 1901 births 1976 deaths People from the London Borough of Barnet Alumni of Bedford College, London 20th-century English women scientists British women chemists English chemists Schoolteachers from Surrey